Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"Where did you learn that from... (⊙_⊙)?"

Hai Zang stared at him blankly. Although it was a bit embarrassing to be criticized by this ignorant brat, he couldn't find any words to refute him, seeing how logically he spoke.

"...That military treatise in your study, produced ten years ago and still looking brand new, I had Jie read it to me all night before we set off. What? You didn't read it?"

Masato looked up at him with disdain at a 45-degree angle.

He wasn't lying this time.

Although the order to start the war was Shamon's, it was ultimately his suggestion, so he bore some responsibility. While he didn't know the exact extent of Sunagakure's losses in the First Shinobi World War, he figured that the major ninja villages must have suffered significant losses; otherwise, they wouldn't have waited twenty years for the Second Shinobi World War. To ensure Sunagakure gained as much as possible and suffered as little as possible this time, he actually had Sasori's father retrieve an "ancient" military treatise from Kaizo's study and read it to him before they set off. He didn't know if it would be effective in ninja combat, but at least it would provide some psychological comfort...

36. Second Raikage: Being the boss isn't easy.

"Lord Raikage, the Sand and Iwa ninja have already set off. We can't wait any longer! Let's go!!"

Inside the Raikage's office in Kumogakure, the Hidden Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning, a group of elderly men in their seventies and eighties, seemingly about to hold a joyous funeral, were having an illegal... legal assembly. The leader of this group, an elderly man standing in the center holding a cane, was incredibly agitated, repeatedly stomping his cane on the floor. If he were thirty years younger, he could have stomped several holes in the floor with that force.

These old men are quite remarkable. Every single one of them is a founding member of Kumogakure, contributing both money and effort when the village was established. Currently, besides the people of Konoha and the resilient Uzumaki clan, Kumogakure has the most old men who have survived since the Warring States period. The fact that they have survived until now shows how tenacious their vitality is. As the saying goes, "An old man in the family is a treasure," but if the treasure in the family is still restless at this age, then they will suffer.

For example, the Second Raikage, who is currently sitting in the Raikage's seat, was being pointed at and sprayed in the face by these old men, but he could only look up helplessly at the sky. His little brother next to him was about to go berserk, but he was able to hold him back. These were all founding members of the village. If one or two of them died, it would be a lot of fun to hold an early funeral.

Previously, when the Tsuchikage wrote to their Hidden Cloud Village to discuss the great cause of defeating the Wood Demon, he didn't quite agree with the idea. He always felt there was something fishy going on because the Tsuchikage's reaction was too strange and too intense!

He had never heard of any deep-seated hatred between the Tsuchikage and Konoha, but as soon as the Tsuchikage heard that Hashirama Senju had died, good heavens, he acted as if his girlfriend had been stolen by Tobirama Senju, immediately gathering people and actively preparing for war, as if he was afraid that the entire ninja world would not know that Tobirama Senju had stolen his girlfriend.

Based on his understanding of the Tsuchikage, this action is very different from his personality!

So he kept those old men who advocated uniting with Iwagakure to start a war. At that time, Iwagakure hadn't made a move yet, and he was still able to keep them in check. After all, people's hearts are unpredictable. Who knows if the Tsuchikage was just putting on a show or if he was really going to start a war?

But now that the Sand Village and the Rock Village are really fighting, and almost all of the Rock Village's fighting force has been mobilized, leaving almost none to guard their homes, these old men are going to get restless!

Konoha is a great place! Now that Hashirama Senju, their father, is dead, even if Konoha is strong, can it stop the three powerful families from joining forces?

So these old men were incredibly excited and immediately gathered together and ran to Lei Ying Lou to request to participate in the battle.

Why did they contribute both money and labor when the village was built?

Is it really for the so-called peace that Hashirama Senju spoke of?

Their Land of Lightning wasn't particularly chaotic back then, and these powerful families lived a very carefree life every day.

The real chaos was caused by the Senju and Uchiha clans in the Land of Fire. They contributed money and effort to help the First Raikage build the village because they saw the benefits that Konoha would bring after its establishment. They believed that harmony brings wealth. After the Land of Fire was free from war, look how quickly those ninja clans developed. That's why they all followed suit.

If the three great ninja villages were to actually conquer Konoha, oh my god! They didn't even dare to imagine what that would look like; they were afraid their hearts wouldn't be able to take the excitement...

"My lords, the situation is still unclear. Let's assess the situation before making any decisions. Konoha is not so easy to deal with..."

The Second Raikage pressed down on his younger brother, who was clenching his fists tightly, and said helplessly to the old men, "Attack Konoha? He wants to too! But damn it, it's not that easy. Do you think he doesn't know Tobirama Senju's methods? Building schools, establishing the Anbu—they copied everything from him. Look how well it worked. Plus, Konoha's Anbu is just too damn effective. Their spies are either dead or can't get any information out. They have no idea what the situation is like in Konoha right now."

It's understandable that Tobirama Senju, the Second Tsuchikage, would seek revenge after stealing the Second Tsuchikage's girlfriend. The Second Kazekage is a complete idiot; it's normal for him to be fooled by the Tsuchikage. If he launched a war without knowing the situation in Konoha, winning would be fine, but if he lost, wouldn't he, the Raikage, be the one to take the blame?

He finally saw through the true nature of these old men; they claimed to be working for the village, but in the end, they were only after their own families' interests...

"Raikage! We can't wait any longer. If we wait any longer and Kirigakure gets in, we won't even get a sip of soup! No matter how strong Konoha is, there should be a limit, right? Can it be strong enough to take on three or four opponents at once? Konoha isn't Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Elder Fuji is right!"

"Yeah, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha are both dead, what's there to be afraid of..."

After the old man standing in the center finished speaking, a group of old men behind him ignored the murderous glare of the muscular man next to the Second Raikage and echoed his words.

You, Ye Yue Ai, may be arrogant, but you haven't officially taken over yet, so what's with the attitude...!

"Sigh... Raikage-sama, let's fight..."

Standing next to Raikage, a dark-skinned middle-aged man who looked like the Grand Marshal sighed and said to Raikage.

Looking at the demeanor of these elderly men, the middle-aged man could only shake his head and sigh, giving the Raikage a look. These old men practically represented most of the Hidden Cloud Village's fighting force; if they really wanted to create a new Hidden Cloud Village, it might actually work...

"Sigh... Time to prepare for battle. We're leaving next month..."

After receiving a look from his own Grand Marshal, the Second Raikage had no choice but to order preparations for battle.

"We're off right now! ヾ(^д^*)/"

Upon hearing this, the old men instantly felt refreshed; their backaches and leg pains disappeared, and they hurried away with a brisk pace, planning to celebrate with a three-hundred-round battle at home.

.......

"Lord Raikage, you're too soft-hearted! These despicable old bastards..."

After the old men left with a rustling sound, the underlings of the Second Raikage A finally couldn't sit still any longer. Staring at the old men's faltering backs, they spoke menacingly.

In his heart, the older brother was too soft-hearted. If he had just shot these old guys dead!

"Sigh...they are all elderly people who have made significant contributions to the village. You'll understand when you take over..."

The Second Raikage, A, looked at his younger brother beside him—the one he had handpicked for the next Raikage—and sighed deeply. Being the boss wasn't easy...

This little guy is great in every way, even more skilled than me, except for his terrible temper. Once he learns to control his temper, he'll be perfect!

37. Konoha OK Combination

Not long after the Iwa and Sunagakure ninjas mobilized, news that the Kumogakure village was also preparing for war quickly spread throughout the ninja world.

Even a three-year-old would know what Kumogakure is up to by preparing for war! Good heavens! The three ninja villages are simultaneously launching an attack on Konoha. Now, those smaller ninja villages that were just watching from the sidelines can't sit still anymore. They could hold back when Iwa and Sunagakure acted impulsively before because Konoha was strong. Even though their father, Hashirama Senju, was dead, in their hearts Konoha was still very strong. The Uchiha clan is known for taking on five opponents at once, so taking on two shouldn't be a problem for Konoha, right?

But now that the Hidden Cloud Village is also preparing for war, they don't think that way anymore.

Konoha taking on two opponents at once shouldn't be a problem, but now it's one against three! That's hard to say. After all, they're all major ninja villages. Being able to take on two opponents from another major ninja village is already pretty impressive. To say one against three... even novels wouldn't dare to write that.

So when they received news of the Hidden Cloud Village's preparations for war, the smaller ninja villages also began to sharpen their swords. They didn't dare to confront the larger ninja villages head-on, but they could still pick off enemies and boost their stats by attacking from behind the scenes.

With the exception of Konoha, which was the passive party, all three of the five great ninja villages in the ninja world had taken action. Now, everyone's attention was focused on Kirigakure, which was also one of the five great ninja villages. After all, if the other three had made a move, Kirigakure would be somewhat out of place if it didn't.

However, just when everyone's attention was focused on Kirigakure, the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki, a war maniac, was not disappointed by them. Not long after the news of Kumogakure's preparations for war spread, the news of Kirigakure's preparations for war immediately came out.

Now everyone was on edge!

In the past, during times of war, battles were fought between clans. Apart from the powerful clans, a clan's fighting strength was limited to a small number of people. Although ninjutsu was flashy, the scenes were not spectacular.

But things are different now. This is a war between nations! Immediately, some people exclaimed that although Hashirama Senju ended the era of war, he ushered in an even more intense and massive era of national wars. This is a war between nations! The number of people and resources are incomparable to those of the era of war.

The fact that Iwagakure alone mobilized more than 30,000 ninjas is already a record!

...

"Teacher, the Sand Village will reach our border in at most two weeks..."

Inside the Hokage Tower in Konoha, all six of Tobirama Senju's disciples and the high-ranking members of the Hokage faction were present. However, their positions revealed that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kagami Uchiha, standing in the center, were his biological children, while the four on either side were adopted. One of the disciples, who had a somewhat resolute appearance, looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kagami Uchiha with a hint of displeasure in his eyes, especially after Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been spouting nonsense and trying to make his presence known in front of their teacher. After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, the disciple kept pouting.

This is our future half of Konoha, friend of villains, and root of Konoha, Shimura Danzo. However, the current Danzo has not yet experienced the 0.0001-second election for the village head, and has not yet successfully evolved. At present, he is still a promising young man from Konoha who loves the village and has no guile.

Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi in the center, Danzo felt nothing but envy, jealousy, and hatred. Although the Shimura and Sarutobi clans had a close relationship, and he and Hiruzen Sarutobi were childhood sweethearts... he was clearly taller and more handsome than Hiruzen, and more in line with his teacher's aesthetic standards. As for Kagami Uchiha, although he disliked the Uchiha clan, he had to admit that Kagami Uchiha was indeed a tiny bit more handsome than him.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi is clearly not as handsome or as tall as him, yet for some reason, the teacher seems to favor him a little more. Although the teacher hasn't said it explicitly, he can sense it; otherwise, he would definitely be standing in the center...

However, those present were preoccupied and oblivious to Danzo's changing expression. The others wore grave expressions. Most of them were born during a time of war and had witnessed its cruelty. Now, Konoha had become the target of almost the entire ninja world. Leaving aside the smaller, bandwagon-following villages, the sheer scale of the other four great ninja villages mobilizing simultaneously far surpassed what they had witnessed in the past. They no longer had the invincible First Hokage or the dancing Madara...

The most crucial point is that at this critical moment, one of their core members, the Uchiha, is throwing a tantrum over the issue of who will be the next leader, which chills their hearts. Uchiha Kagami is in the most awkward position, after all, he is a member of the Uchiha clan. Although his friends and teachers don't look at him with prejudice, he feels very uncomfortable. He used to do all the reporting, but now he has to leave it to his best friend.

"...Don't worry, I've already talked to the Uchiha. The Uchiha will be in charge of the Iwagakure area this time, and they'll be leaving tomorrow or the day after. As for the Sunagakure area...Ito, you take the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the Inuzuka clan to the Sunagakure area, and...just take Sakumo with you."

Tobirama Senju was always as steady as a rock, which made everyone present feel exceptionally at ease. When Tobirama finished saying that the Uchiha matter was settled and that they were going to confront the Iwa ninja, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. As long as their core members were dealt with, that was all that mattered. Although they usually disliked the Uchiha clan, they couldn't deny that the Uchiha clan was the "O" in their Konoha KO group, and the Hyuga clan couldn't replace them yet.

Who told the Hyuga clan not to be invincible in the paint... uh, to take on five opponents at once?

"Hokage-sama, isn't it a bit inappropriate to send such a young child like Sakumo to the battlefield...? Our Konoha no longer needs children on the battlefield..."

Before Tobirama Senju's father could speak, an elder of the Senju clan spoke up. At this moment, only Tobirama Senju and his own family members dared to offer opinions in front of him.

However, the old man from the Senju clan was right. Others might not know, but the people of Konoha knew that with Konoha's current strength, there was no need for children to go to the battlefield in the early stages of the war. Even if Hatake Sakumo was a genius, he was still just a child. Too many talented children died in war during the war-torn era, so there was absolutely no need for them now.

"Elder Senju, don't worry, I believe Sakumo will be fine."

The Hatake clan is just that straightforward. Before Tobirama Senju could even speak, Tobirama's father, who thought the Senju elder was saying his son was too weak to go to the battlefield, immediately spoke up to support his son.

You say my family is prone to leg weakness, I admit it, it's hereditary.

But you can't say that the Hatake clan is weak!

38. That's folk opera.

"..."

Those around were sweating profusely... The Hatake clan is indeed damn straightforward. Didn't you hear that Elder Senju was protecting your son...?-_-||

"you......."

The Thousand Hands Elder who spoke earlier almost choked to death by Little White Fang's father.

If he hadn't known that the Hatake clan was like this, he would have left long ago. He didn't want Hatake Sakumo to go to the battlefield, firstly to protect the young talents of Konoha. Hatake Sakumo's talent was obvious to the naked eye. If he could develop peacefully for ten years or so, he would definitely be amazing in the future. There was no need for him to take the risk to go to the battlefield. Konoha was not without talent.

Secondly, when their Senju clan princess was kidnapped by that blond-haired brat from Sunagakure, it was Hatake Sakumo who was the first to fight that blond-haired brat. Although he was ultimately at a disadvantage, the Hatake clan had to remember this favor, which is why he stood up to dissuade their leader.

I just didn't expect that before the family members even said anything, the child's father had already objected to him...

"...Alright, Elder, no need to say anything more. This matter is settled. If that little brat from Sunagakure can go to the battlefield, our Konoha geniuses will certainly not lag behind...(▼he▼メ)"

Senju Tobirama looked at his ANBU chief with a sense of helplessness, but it was precisely because the Hatake clan members all had this kind of stubborn personality that he could use them with peace of mind and comfort.

He gritted his teeth whenever he talked about that little bastard from Sunagakure who dared to kidnap his granddaughter. He wished Sakumo would kill him... No, he'd leave him alive so he could slice him into pieces himself and teach that little bastard the price for daring to call him a cunning old man....(▼he▼メ)

"hiss.....!"

Those present, seeing Tobirama Senju's appearance, might have wondered which little brat from Sunagakure had offended their Hokage, while those who knew the reason thought to themselves, "That Hokage really holds a grudge..."

......

"Brothers... I mean! My fellow countrymen! The Land of Fire lies just ahead, where countless treasures you've never seen before await! For a better tomorrow for our village! For our next generation to not have to live like us, using secondhand blades, rusty shuriken, and not even having to measure their water! Tomorrow, give it your all and charge into the Land of Fire...!"

On the border of the Land of Fire, the future third-generation commander, Sunagawa, flew through the air with a flushed face, looking down at his underlings. He was mentally cursing the opening speech that little bastard Masato had written for him the night before, and he cursed Masato's family hundreds of times. This shouldn't have been something he, the third commander, was supposed to do. He was called here by Shamon to be Chiyo's second-in-command. This kind of morale-boosting work should have been done by Chiyo, the highest commander on the battlefield. However, because Masato's opening speech was so damn embarrassing, Chiyo tossed it to the second commander, Kaizo, after reading it. Kaizo, after reading it, felt that he didn't have the face to say such vulgar and shameful words, so he passed it on to Sunagawa, the third commander.

After reading the opening remarks, Sunagawa thought that the ignorant Masato had decent writing skills. If he were to say those words, it would definitely boost the morale of his underlings and make their combat power explode. However... he really found it difficult to say those opening remarks himself. There were only three commanders present this time, and the first and second commanders refused. Although Masato was just a kid who had completed an unprecedented SSS-level mission, he was still just a kid and his credibility was low. If he said it, the effect would definitely not be as great as if they said it.

In the end, there was no other way but for him, the third commander and the leading figure among the village's younger generation, to carry out this arduous task.

"kill!!!!"

"Charge into the Land of Fire!!!"

Sure enough, after Sunagawa finished reciting those shameful opening lines, the underlings on site all had red eyes, and they looked at Sunagawa high in the sky like bandits ready to enter the village. As long as their leader gave the order, they would fight to the moon with him....!